Furniture protector device

ABSTRACT

Furniture protector device comprising: a plurality of side by side rigid elongate members forming an upper layer of rigid members and and a lower layer of rigid members. The layers are attached to each other by standard equally space pins to form a standard expandable lattice structure. A plurality of spike members are perpendicularly attached to the rigid members of the upper layer. A pair of handle members are each attached to rigid members located on the right and left side of the upper layer. The lattice structure can be expanded to cover the entire horizontal surface of a standard sofa or contracted for compact storage.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORS RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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DESCRIPTION OF ATTACHED THE APPENDIX

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the field of furniture protectoraccessories and more specifically to a portable furniture protectordevice for use in deterring pets from sitting on furniture.

A common problem for pet owners is that their pets, such as a dog or acat, climb onto a piece of furniture such as a chair or a sofa and soilthe horizontal surface of the chair or sofa with pet hair or other petrelated debris. Such pet hair or debris is unsightly and may cause anallergic reaction to those who sit on the affected surfaces. Toeliminate this problem, it is necessary to put some sort of covering onthe chair or sofa seat that will discourage the pet from resting there.

A number of inventors have addressed this problem. Ronald Waselewski, inhis U.S. Pat. No. 6,749,922 discloses a foldable rigid sheet materialthat can be put on a sofa surface so that a plurality of V shapesdiscourage the pet from sitting on the sofa. Charles Byrne, in his U.S.Pat. No. 6,095,091 shows a flexible mat that includes a plurality ofupwardly disposed tines that create an uncomfortable environment for thepet. Edward Rogers, in his U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,746 discloses a pluralityof angle members connected by a flexible cord so that the angle memberscan be spread out evenly over a furniture surface thereby discouraging apet from lying on the surface. And finally, James DeBoard, in his patentapplication 5,842,746 discloses a plurality of expandable strut membersthat are attached to each other by hinges so that, when expanded, thestruts are distributed along the length of a sofa thereby discouraging apet from sitting on the surface.

All the above solutions to the problem of pets sitting on a sofa orchair have certain deficiencies in their approach. Referring to theWaselewski patent, a pet, especially a small pet such as a cat, caneasily make use of the V shapes for sitting on for sitting or lying.Although the pet may not be lying directly on the furniture surface, thepet is not being trained to stay off of the surface because theconfiguration does not provide enough deterrent. The mat disclosed inthe Byrne patent also seems to provide little deterrent for a larger dogwho wishes to sit on a sofa. Smaller pets such as a cat could sitbetween the mats. The mats, being of a specific size may not cover theintended surface completely without overlapping each other. Multiplemats are somewhat difficult to store. The angle channels in the Rogerspatent also do not seem to provide a strong deterrent for a larger dog,and a cat could easily lie in the space between the angles. Finally, thedevice described in the DeBoard patent would allow a pet such as a catto crawl under the struts. Additionally, the hinged construction of thedevice allows the entire assembly to flex and potentially cause a numberof the struts to flatten thereby giving a larger pet a place to sit orlie.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the invention is to provide a furniture protectordevice that inhibits pets such as dogs or cats from sitting on a pieceof furniture such as a chair or a sofa.

Another object of the invention is to provide a furniture protectordevice that can be expanded or contracted to fit sofa's of variouswidths.

Another object of the invention is to provide a furniture protectordevice that can be easily stored.

Another object of the invention is to provide a furniture protectordevice whose deterrent means are strong enough, tall enough and closelyenough spaced that any sized cat or dog would be deterred from sittingon the piece of furniture that employs the present invention.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following descriptions, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, anembodiment of the present invention is disclosed.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, there isdisclosed a furniture protector device comprising: a plurality of sideby side rigid elongate members forming an upper layer and a lower layer,said layers attached to each other by standard pin means to form astandard expandable lattice structure, a plurality of spike members eachfixedly and perpendicularly attached to said rigid members of said upperlayer, and a pair of handle members each centrally and fixidly attachedto a said rigid member of said upper layer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings constitute a part of this specification and includeexemplary embodiments to the invention, which may be embodied in variousforms. It is to be understood that in some instances various aspects ofthe invention may be shown exaggerated or enlarged to facilitate anunderstanding of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a plan view of the invention in the closed position.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the invention on a sofa in the openuse position.

FIG. 3 shows a partial perspective view of the invention.

FIG. 4 shows a side edge view of the invention.

FIG. 5 shows a top edge view of the invention.

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of a shorter version of the invention inuse on a chair.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiment are provided herein.It is to be understood, however, that the present invention may beembodied in various forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed hereinare not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis for theclaims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the artto employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailedsystem, structure or manner.

Referring now to FIG. 1 we see a plan view of the invention 100 in itsclosed or stored position. The protective device 100 is comprised of aplurality of rigid elongate members arranged in a side by side mannerand placed in upper and a lower layers 2A, 2B, that when pinned togetherby equally spaced posts 4, create a standard expandable latticeconfiguration. Raised handles 6, 8 provide gripping points allow theuser to easily expand and contract the lattice assembly.

FIG. 2 shows the invention 100 in its expanded form and in use on a sofa10. The upper 2A and lower 2B layers are clearly visible. The posts 4,which can be also described as spikes because of their conically shapedtops, are equally spaced about four and one half inches apart. The posts4 are approximately one and three quarters of an inch tall. Experimentshave shown this particular post spacing and post height to be mosteffective in deterring a dog or a cat from resting on the cushionsurface of a sofa 10. The preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 2 can beexpanded or contracted to fit most standard sized sofa's. The handles 6,8 easily allow the user to adjust the expansion or contraction of theinvention 100.

FIG. 3 shows a partial view of the invention 100 and clearly shows theshape of post 4 which includes a cone shaped head 4A that further detersa pet from sitting or lying on the protected furniture surface. The coneshape 4A is slightly rounded at the top to prevent them from inflictingany serious harm to a pet or a person.

FIG. 4 shows a side edge view of the invention 100. Captive nuts 24 canbe seen which retain posts 4 in such a way that elongate members 2A, 2Bare free to pivot about posts 4 in a standard lattice assembly manor.

FIG. 5 shows a top edge view of the invention 100. Posts 4 can be seenextending through layers 2A and 2B as shown by dotted line 22.

FIG. 6 shows an alternate embodiment of the invention 200 that isdesigned for a single chair. It uses fewer elongate members and cantherefore be made less expensively and stored in a smaller space.

While the invention has been described in connection with a preferredembodiment, it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention tothe particular form set forth, but on the contrary, it is intended tocover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may beincluded within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by theappended claims.

1. Furniture protector device comprising: a plurality of side by siderigid elongate members forming an upper layer and a lower layer, saidlayers attached to each other by standard equally spaced post means toform a standard expandable lattice structure; a plurality of spikemembers each fixedly and perpendicularly attached to said rigid membersof said upper layer; and a pair of handle members each centrally andfixidly attached to a said rigid member of said upper layer. 2.Furniture protector device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said latticestructure can be expanded to cover the entire horizontal surface of astandard sofa.
 3. Furniture protector device as claimed in claim 1wherein said handles can be grasped by a user to facilitate theexpansion or contraction of said lattice structure.
 4. Furnitureprotector device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said lattice structure iseasily storable when in its collapsed position.
 5. Furniture protectordevice as claimed in claim 1 wherein each said spike member includes acone shaped top to inhibit the presence of a dog or a cat.
 6. Furnitureprotector device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said spike members areevenly spaced approximately four and one half inches apart and areapproximately one and three quarters of an inch tall.
 7. Furnitureprotector device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said lattice structurecan be comprised of varying amounts of said elongate members dependingon whether the said furniture protector device is intended for use on achair or a sofa.